One in four Japanese men aren’t getting married until age 50 - and that’s not good for the country’s low birthrate

Nearly one in every four men and one in every seven women in Japan had remained unmarried until age 50 in 2015 in a clear sign that Japanese people are increasingly shying away from tying the knot, a government report obtained ahead of its release showed.

Experts attributed the growing trend to less social pressure to marry and financial worries among workers as more people hold non-permanent jobs, with the data pointing to the need for increased policy efforts to promote marriage.

The findings are particularly troubling to Japan as it means the country’s birthrate is unlikely to rebound anytime soon and more people will resort to nursing- and health-care services when they get older as they have no spouse or child they can turn to for such care.

Watch: searching for love and marriage in modern Japan

The new report by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research showed the proportion of those who had never married by age 50 hit a record 23.37 per cent for men, up 3.23 percentage points from the previous survey in 2010, and a record 14.06 per cent for women, up 3.45 points.